Until It's Gone
by Ripfang Dragon
Summary: Zoro has secretive feelings for Sanji and doesn't know how to tell him. What happens when he finally confesses to the love cook?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: **_MWAHAHAH! I am having so much fun :3 I just got done reading Scuttlebutt-Inc's fanfic Favorite Disease and the newest chapters of vampire-otaku's fanfic Of Rifles and Repercussions and I just had to write something again! And I got this crazy plot idea at work! So here's chapter one. omg angst already XD_

_Enjoy_

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It was the same thing everyday. Sanji cooked. He never noticed anything around him. All he knew was the steam rising from his pots and pans on the stove; that egotistical feeling every time he finished another dish and got that extra compliment from Usopp or Robin. Each ingredient carefully picked out and added with care. A place for everything and everything in its place. That was normal to everyone on the Going Merry. They were all used to Sanji constantly occupying the kitchen from lunch until dinner. No one paid any heed to it. No one really noticed it anymore.

But he never went unadmired. Secretly, someone watched him. Most people can feel when people at watching them. But Sanji could never seem to notice those green eyes admiring him, burning holes into that back of his blue collared shirt with his sleeved rolled up and his dress coat draped over the back of a chair. While he flipped some sort of meat mix in a pan or elegantly sliced up vegetables on the cutting board in the blink of an eye. The pair of keen, sea-green orbs gazing longing from the deck into the kitchen as he lifted heavy weights. Yes, the kitchen window was a decent distance away, but Zoro could always watch Sanji clearly. Those beautiful, golden locks. His slender, yet firm body flowing so fluently as he reached for something, moved something or placed something where it belongs. Zoro couldn't help but daydream at the sight of the chef. It was pure bliss and he loved every minute of it. How he wanted to just touch the love-cook. Run his fingers through his hair, finally get to take time to feel every small, tense muscle. To finally get to taste him--

"Shit!" Zoro curses as he unconsciously drops one of his weights and it smashed against the hardwood floor, barely missing his foot. He's never had this problem before. Why now? _God this isn't natural. _Zoro bend over and picked up the weight he just dropped. _Just thinking about this isn't natural._ His head was swimming. He knew damn well that his thoughts about Sanji weren't natural. Two grown men, his fantasies and constant admiration. Often he tried to tell himself that he was just going through a "faze" and nothing more. He always increased his arguing and challenges with the ero-cook to try and drown out the idea every time he began to feel this way. It was too big of a distraction and Sanji would surely be serving his head on a platter to the rest of the Straw Hat crew if he ever found out. This is Zoro's secret.

Zoro's secret and no one else's. And this secret tortures him. It twists and turns in his stomach while he is trying to eat. It knots and tangles in his throat while he tries to train. It aches and throbs in his head every time he tries to sleep. There didn't seem to be a single time where he can escape the thought because the lust just countered every distraction defense thrown at it. What could he do to rid himself of the idea? To have a free moment where his mind is his own and not in possession of Sanji.

"Oi! Dinnertime!" _Speak of the devil, _Zoro thought to himself as the love-cook's voice interrupted his train of thought. No matter where he turned, Sanji always seemed to be there. Zoro puts his weights off to the side and heads up the stairs to the eating area.

Luffy had beaten everyone to the kitchen and was already gorging. His plate was stacked high with anything that was made from meat and his mouth was stuffed full before anyone else had the chance to take a seat. For his gluttonous actions, he was rewarded with a swift kick to the back of his head from Sanji and a scolding. Zoro didn't pay any attention to it even though he knew it was going to be about "ladies first." It always is.

The person who followed in after Zoro was Robin. Nami tagged along right behind her. They were discussing something in hushed voices, finishing up a private conversation that was interrupted by Sanji's demand for everybody to come and eat. Of course, as soon as the women enter the room Sanji runs over and starts swooning over them. _Typical,_ was the only thought that came to Zoro's head as he picked a seat. As much as he wanted to pick a fight with the cook to try to feel better about his own thoughts, he wanted to eat equally as bad. His stomach had been doing more than just growling at him since he skipped lunch to clean his katana.

Zoro didn't even notice Usopp or Chopper come into the kitchen, being too consumed in his dinner. They must have come separately because if they hadn't, there would have been a lot of noise upon their arrival. And he did his best to pay little mind to the topics being discussed at the table tonight. He didn't exactly want to hear about their fishing stories of today. It was the same thing everyday anyway.

---

Soon enough, dinner was over and Sanji asked for someone to help clean up the mess. Usopp left the kitchen as his normal, proud self followed by his greatest admirer, Chopper, who had greatly tickled his ego during meal-time by believing every story he told. Luffy darted out the door almost as quickly as Usopp and Chopper, and everybody knew that it would be a cold day in hell the day the women were put to work in Sanji's kitchen. So that left Zoro, and as he tried to weasel his way out of the kitchen, Sanji tapped him on the shoulder with a dirty spatula.

"Well?" He inquires. "You're the last one here. You're drying dishes."

"Oh?" Zoro snaps. "And who died and made you captain?"

"My kitchen, my rules," Sanji says bluntly, turning around to head to the sink.

"There are two other people in this room, cook." Zoro's voice was strained with frustration. The last place he wanted to be was with the man who was haunting his every thought.

"Nami and Robin will not be put to work in _my_ kitchen," Sanji protested. "Their beautiful hands are not to be stained with the half eaten, drool stained food leftover by you brutes."

"Whatever," Zoro says as he rolls his eyes. It doesn't matter how much he fights it, he'll still get stuck helping Sanji with clean-up. "Let's just get this over with."

"You make it sound like I've got you chained to a wall and I'm getting ready to whip you." Sanji chuckled at the thought, greatly amused by it for some odd reason or another. He turns on the water and fills the sink before adding soap to a sponge and scrubbing down each dish.

"Might as well be..." Zoro mutters, determined to get the last word, as he's handed the first dish to dry. He dried it quickly and put it away, only to have another dish shoved in his face. This was a pattern that went on for a little while. Zoro was getting irritated with the rush that Sanji presented to him. He was so much quicker at washing the dishes than Zoro was at drying and putting them away. He was getting so fed up with it that he started to fall behind on purpose. Just another reason to fight with him. Anything to keep him from staring at the cook. He was such a distraction by himself.

"Zoro."

Zoro ignored Sanji, slowly setting a cup in it's designated cabinet and eying the cook. _This isn't right,_ he thought to himself.

"Zoro."

He slowed even more, reaching to place a plate that he dried and set aside on a shelf, eyes wandering to Sanji's ass. _What am I thinking?_ He thought again.

"Oi! Marimo!" Sanji slapped the dripping bowl he had just dried against Zoro's chest to get his attention. "Quit your day-dreaming and speed up. You're so slow, my god."

"Quit your complaining, ero-cook," Zoro mumbled, shooting a glare at him. He then hears chairs scrape against the floor as Nami and Robin decide to finish up the desert that Sanji had specially served to them and leave. They didn't want to get caught in one of Zoro and Sanji's quarrels again. The door clicked closed, leaving the cook and the swordsman alone.

"I wouldn't be complaining if you weren't so damn slow."

"I wouldn't be so slow if you weren't so damn distracting!" Zoro closes his mouth fast, shocked that he let that slip out so easily. He freezes under Sanji's confused and defensive gaze.

"And what do you mean by that?" Sanji snaps.

"Nothing," Zoro growls as he pushes the bowl back into Sanji's hands and turns to leave.

"Not so fast!" Sanji barks and drops the bowl into the sink, grabbing Zoro's arm to stop him from leaving. This really seemed to irk Zoro and he spun around, growling dangerously and eyes flashing.

"Do you WANT to fight?" His voice was ridden with frustration. As much as he longed for Sanji's touch, he didn't want to be bothered while his mind was in such turmoil.

"Tell me what you meant, shit-head!" Sanji's voice is very demanding, an almost dominate tone sticking to his voice. This only manages to make Zoro mad. Just the thought of someone demanding something of him and trying to take control of him made him mad, no matter how lustful he was feeling towards the person. It made him want to spin around, grab Sanji by his throat and screw him into the kitchen table. Sanji's grip tightened threatening around Zoro's arm.

"Don't touch me." Zoro says in a dark voice, and he grabs Sanji's hand with his free one, forcing it to release him. Sanji bristles at the rejection. Zoro had just said something bizarre and intriguing and now he wants to just walk out without explaining himself?

"That doesn't fly...not in my kitchen," Sanji mutters to himself before daringly grabbing his arm again. "No. You're not leaving until you answer me, crap-swordsman."

And there's that demand in his voice again. That moment of dominance. Zoro fumes. There is no way in hell Zoro is going to let Sanji dominate him in any way, shape or form. "I warned you," Zoro hisses as he lashes out and grabs Sanji's throat. He pushes back, forcing the cook off balance and into the wall and he squeezes, though not enough to actually damage him in any way.

Sanji cringes as he hits the wall, more in surprise than anything. He notices a bizarre fire burning in Zoro's eyes. Not like anything he's ever seen while fighting with him, which made him wriggle under the strange glare and lustful looks. And as if things weren't weird enough for Sanji, Zoro leaning in close and breathing in his mouth instead of punching him really threw him off.

"Wha-what are you doing!" Sanji tries to lift his leg up to kick Zoro away, but the swordsman pins his left leg to the wall with his free hand and the other leg with his hip.

"You wanted to know, so I'm answering you." Zoro says to him in a dark, hushed tone right before locking lips with the chef. Sanji's eyes grow wide with shock as a foreign object forces its way into his mouth, violating every section it can before the love-cook has enough sense to grab at Zoro's face with his hands. He pushes back, whining and thrashing his toothpick like body as best he can with the other's weight pressing against him.

Sanji's protesting hands made it very hard for Zoro to continue kissing him, so he moved his head back. Zoro licks his kiss-swollen lips excitedly, slightly aroused from the ecstasy and thrill from Sanji fighting the kiss. He lets go of Sanji's throat as he claws furiously at his hand. From the looks of it, he obviously felt very violated.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Sanji squeals. He didn't mean to squeal, but that's the only sound the he could pull from his throat after what had just happened. Oh, how he wanted to kick Zoro's head so hard that his brains spewed all over the floor, but the offending hand and hip still pinned him to the wall and prevented any rebellion.

"I answered you," Zoro smirked. He had a grim tone in his voice that just made Sanji even more nervous than he already was.

"Th-that wasn't an answer, marimo!" Sanji growled, trying to regain some dignity to no avail.

"Yes it was," Zoro mumbles. Maybe his message hadn't gotten through? He feels Sanji shudder beneath him. This is what the swordsman had wanted all along. He wanted to touch, to feel, to taste the ero-cook. But maybe this isn't what the cook himself wanted. The sudden shudder was proof enough of that. Also, the look of hatred in his visible eye was enough to make Zoro back off of him. He released him and moved far enough so that he's just out of kicking range. As he realizes exactly what he did, he feels a wave of guilt wash over him. He had just violated his shipmate without even asking. "Sanji?"

"Don't talk to me." Sanji growls as he stands up, brushing himself off. Without looking Zoro in the eyes, he shoves passed him and says, "Get the fuck out of my kitchen."

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**Ending Notes: **_Well? How'd I do? I hope I made some fangirls squeal :3_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: **_Bwahaha! chapter 2, as requested! _

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What was this? Rejection? Zoro was speechless. He didn't know what to say to Sanji this time. No smart remark, no attempt at the last word. He didn't even turn around to watch him after he'd just shoved right passed him. There was no possibly explanation he could offer to Sanji for what he just did. That was Zoro's awkward way of saying that he loved the love-cook, but it only made the other man angry with him. _I knew it wasn't natural_, Zoro thought to himself, and, wordlessly, he walked out of the kitchen. He didn't bother to close the door, he didn't bother to offer to help finish cleaning up the mess from dinner. He did just what Sanji had asked and "got the fuck out of his kitchen."

Sanji was scrubbing furiously at the dishes, more confused and upset now than he ever was. There wasn't a single clear thought in his head anymore and so many new questions. He couldn't possibly understand why Zoro would go out of his way to kiss him like that. Was it lust? Did the swordsman just need someone to relieve his sexual frustrations on? That had to be it. But the sincerity in his voice after he backed off said otherwise, which just baffled the cook even more. Things were always a little bizarre on the Going Merry, especially with their captain. But this just took the cake. Was Zoro gay?

Sanji shakes his head trying to get his crew mate out of his head, finishing up scrubbing the last of the dishes. He knew tonight was going to be a sleepless night, especially because he bunked in the same room as Zoro.

A sudden knock on the open kitchen door disturbs his train of though, no matter how much of a mess his thoughts were already, and he turns to look. Nami is standing in the doorway. She had abandoned them earlier, most likely to try and escape the fighting. Somehow Nami or Robin always gets mentioned and dragged into the cook's a swordsman's arguing. He couldn't blame her for leaving. But why come back?

"Ah, Nami-swan," Sanji says in the smoothest voice he can. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I saw what happened, Sanji-kun." Nami says abruptly. Sanji's breath gets caught in his throat. He never thought about someone catching them. It's not like it was his fault anyway, but it still surprised him.

"Y-you did?" Sanji starts, but he catches his nervousness and recovers quite well. "I'm so sorry you had to witness something such as that, Nami-swan. You're beautiful eyes should never have fallen on such tasteless thing--"

"Cut the shit, Sanji." she snaps. "That's not why I'm here." She walks over to him and looks right up into his eyes. "I wanted to know if you're okay."

"W-why wouldn't I be?" he questions, losing his refined attitude.

"Because," Nami says. "That doesn't seem like something you'd be okay with from a woman _or _a man. And you barked at him. I'll ask again: are you okay?" She had him cornered. Of course he wasn't just "okay." Who would be after someone of the same sex as you, who fights with you and makes you feel like hell on a daily basis, kisses you and expects the same affection in return? But Sanji chokes back on his own emotions and takes Nami's hand.

"Nami-chan," he starts off with. "I'm so flattered that you care enough to take time out of your busy evening to check up on me, but I am fine." He lies between his teeth and gives her a faux smile hoping that she'd buy it and leave him alone. For the first time in his life, he wanted her to just leave him alone.

"If you're sure," she mumbles and makes to turn around and leave. She's halfway out of the kitchen door before she twists her head just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. "And Sanji-kun? I promise no one will think of you any less here if you change your mind about him." That sentence, that retort hit him with such force. He stopped and stared, but before he could get a good look and let everything settle in, she was gone and the door was closed.

He sighs and shakes his head."Such nonsense," he thinks aloud as he pulls an already half-smoked cigarette out of his pocket and lights it, popping the filter end in his mouth and inhaling the poison smoke deeply.

---

Night quickly fell and Sanji took his post in the crow's nest. He volunteered first on watch so he didn't have to bother trying to sleep in the same room as Zoro. He felt bad that he was going out of his way to avoid the other man, especially someone who he's lived with for so long, but he couldn't help it. Just the site of his marimo-head made his stomach turn for the worst and his head spin. He'd much rather stay up for half of the night with a bottle of booze and his pack of cigarettes, which was almost empty. _Shit_, Sanji thought. _Two left? I need to roll more..._ He glances at the kitchen, knowing what he was going to do after his shift is over and he wakes up Usopp.

Sanji steals one of the last two cigarettes anyway and lights the end, puffing away at it furiously as he picked up his thoughts right where he left them was Nami intruded. He was in deep thought most of his watch shift, trying to figure out Zoro's intentions. Before he knew it, Usopp came out on his own and shooed Sanji out of the bird's next. He assumed that he wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping and stole away into his kitchen.

It was late, maybe two or three in the morning, so Sanji decided that he'd get his privacy in his kitchen without locking the door. That is, assuming that Usopp doesn't get lonely or Luffy doesn't drag himself in there half asleep begging for a midnight snack. And chances are that neither of those things would happen. So he didn't bother to lock the door like he usually does when he's rolling cigarettes. He sets everything out, the tobacco, the filters, the paper used to roll it, and he gets to work right away. Hand rolled cigarettes always taste the best to the chef, and for quite a few of them, he forsook adding the filters. And then the door creaks.

Sanji was half convinced that his captain wanted a snack and he barked at him without looking up, "Go back to bed, Luffy. No food until breakfast."

"I don't want food," another voice replied. It wasn't Luffy, but a lot deeper and more mature than that of his bottomless pit of a captain. The voice made him flinch. It could only be one person and why, oh why did it have to be him?

"Go away Zoro, there's nothing in here that's welcomed to you at this hour either."

"Like I said, I don't want food, Sanji." Zoro says with a sigh.

"And like I said, there's _nothing _in here that's welcomed to you." Sanji's voice had a little irritation about it, but too tired to actually sound angry.

"Not even a moment to borrow your ears?" Zoro inquired. His request seemed innocent enough. What was the harm in letting him talk?

"Alright, shit-head." Sanji answers. "You got two minutes." He completely ignores the fact that Zoro pulls up a chair right next to where he's rolling his cigarettes. And it never occurred to Zoro that Sanji rolled his own smokes. He always just figured that he bought a few packs and stashed them around the ship. Just something else Sanji can do that Zoro had no idea about.

"You do realize that those death sticks are going to kill you one day, right?" Zoro remarks.

"Are you here to talk to me or to pick a fight with me, asshole?" Sanji growls, chewing on the end of a freshly rolled, but still unlit, cigarette.

Zoro grumbles and sighs. He had no idea how to word what he wanted to say. Everything sounded so awkward in his head and even more so trying to say it aloud. "Listen, Sanji," he says, figuring that's a good way to start. "About what happened after dinner."

"I don't want to talk about that," Sanji cuts Zoro off, finishing up the final cigarette and packing the completed ones into the case he always seems to be using.

"You don't, but I do." Zoro says as he begins to chew nervously on his lower lip.

"I don't care," Sanji blurts out, now cleaning up the mess on the table. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You think this is easy for me?" Zoro raises his voice a little in anger. "I'm having just as hard of a time talking about it as you are! Now will you just _shut up_ and listen to me!" The sudden anger is Zoro's voice caught Sanji's attention and he finishes putting his stuff away, leaning against the counter next to the stove once he's done.

"You're not going to give it up, are you?" Sanji grumbles in defeat. "Fine, speak." He crosses his arms over his chest and proceeds to chew on the end of his unlit butt.

"About what happened," Zoro says, finding that he's already beginning to repeat himself. "I...It wasn't meant...Listen..."

"Spit it out already." Sanji's patience was obviously wearing thin. Zoro didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. So he gets up and does one of the hardest things he's done since he's met the cook: walks over to Sanji and takes both of his hands in his own. Sanji's hands are so smooth, so soft compared to his own battle scarred and calloused ones. He rubs the cook's palms with the tips of his fingers and sighs, looking into his eyes.

"We've been living aboard Merry together for a long time," He finally says. "We've fought many fights together, ate together and even gotten lost and unlost together." He watches as Sanji makes a face, his hands flinching at the touching and petting. The love-cook was obviously getting nervous again. This was it. His true confession. All or nothing. Now or never. "Sanji. I love you."

"What?" is all Sanji can manage to say, his jaw dropping. He doesn't hear the slew of compliments and admiration that rolls out of Zoro's mouth after that. He just can't get his head around the idea. It came to him as a complete shocker. After a moment, Sanji rips his hands back and lifts his left leg up, slamming it into Zoro's chest and kicking him away with as much force as he can muster from such a close distance. "Don't touch me!" Sanji wipes his hands on his clothes, knowing no other way of reacting. He'd always been a lady's man and knew how to handle the chicks. But never, not once, has another man hit on him or flirted with him in any way. This is something completely new to him.

Zoro crashes into the table, moving it backwards a good ways and knocking over both benches. He groans and sits up. He can feel the blood in him boiling. He just wanted to rip into the cook for such a violent response to such a personal confession. But a new feeling, an ache in his chest, stopped him from getting up or even moving from the spot where he landed. He just remained there, every insult, curse and word Sanji chose to yell echoing and pounding in his head, making the new found pain and tightness in his chest even worse. He can hear Sanji demanding repetitively for Zoro to get out of his kitchen, but Zoro's body wouldn't respond. Soon threats flooded in after the demand, but Sanji made no move to enforce it.

It took a little less than five minutes of Sanji screaming at Zoro for the swordsman to actually get up. _Stop yelling, _was all he could think. He lumbered towards the door, but in his awkward movements, he stumbled and just barely catches his balance. As soon as he's outside and closes the door, he hears a plate or a bowl or something smash against the door frame. He cringes and sighs. What a night.

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**Ending Notes: **_The end! X3 I know a lot of you must hate Sanji (or me) by now, but please. Don't judge him (or me) until the fic is completed 3 3_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **_Oh, check it out! Chapter 3! This is moving along a lot more smoothly that "The Aftermath" or whatever it's called XD And I am so cracked from writing it all in one sitting with a severe lack of sleep. The start on chapter 4 is going to have to wait everyone! I'M GOING TO BED!_

_Oh, another thing, before I forget. Yes, I did change the title of the fic . You'll find out why once the entire thing is posted 33_

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The sounds of furniture breaking and yelling was not a stranger on board of the Going Merry. Especially when the bickering was coming from Zoro and Sanji. They almost always had an excuse to fight, no matter how petty the reason was. During the day it was easy to ignore and Luffy always knew when things were getting out of hand and when enough was enough. But three in the morning was a different story, and waking up to screaming and crashing was not a pleasant or custom thing.

Nami had jumped out of her bed, hearing Sanji yelling bloody murder. She wasn't even half way to the area where she thought the yelling was coming from when she heard something heavy and soft striking what sounded like wood. It had to be the galley. She runs out onto the deck and spots the light on in the galley and nods her head in confirmation and, without missing a beat, runs up the stairs.

That's when Zoro comes lumbering out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. He flinches at each curse as it comes off of the string Sanji is spewing out along with the smash of the dish that he threw against the door frame, and he clenches a fist over the doorknob so that if, for some odd reason in hell, the chef wanted to follow him, he couldn't. He's visibly shivering up and down and he's biting his bottom lip to the point of drawing blood. It was hard to tell under simply the moonlight. But she did see a few bruises forming on various parts of his body. The one that seemed to catch her attention was the one over his left eye where his head struck the table. He had hit it so hard that it just barely broke the flesh and a small rivulet of blood was coursing its way down his tanned skin, over his raw cheek and coming to a stop at his jawline where is just dripped off.

Nami was awestruck. What could she say? She's never known Zoro to just let Sanji win a fight like that. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe Sanji's laying half crippled in the kitchen with just enough sense to scream. Nami quickly jumped to conclusions, not letting the logic and knowledge that Sanji wasn't just screaming, but him forming threatening and angry phrases in his yelling didn't sink in at all.

"Zoro!" She shrieks and runs over to him, gently placing two of her finger tips on his forehead. "What happened to you?"

"Nurrg..." Zoro groans and pushes off of the door, standing up as straight as he can. Without glancing once at Nami he leaves her and the kitchen, heading down the stairs and onto the main deck and then to perch on "Luffy's special chair."

Nami watches him leave. He's walking fine, so he'll be okay for now. But what about Sanji? Before she gets the chance to lay a hand on the doorknob, Luffy cuts in front of her. Apparently, Nami wasn't the only one disturbed from her nightly slumber by the fighting. Luffy swings the door open and enters.

"Sanji, what's going on?" He sleepily rubs one of his eyes and yawns. He looks a little upset, mostly from being aroused from his slumber so abruptly. It was a rude awakening, if nothing else.

"Nothing," Sanji once again finds himself lying between his teeth. This was so hard. First to his precious Nami-san, and now to his beloved captain. This is so hard for him, but no one else can find out. If Zoro wouldn't say anything, than neither would Sanji. A silent agreement between the two, seeing as at the moment they couldn't agree on anything else.

Luffy points half-consciously at the moved table and broken benches. "That doesn't say 'nothing' to me." He whines, now begging Sanji to tell him what's wrong. He might have been more persistent if he wasn't so tired from a lack of sleep. Nami, as worried as she was from just gazing at the mess, couldn't help but chuckle at Luffy's awkward way of asking things.

"Nothing," Sanji repeats one more time, refusing to glance at the mess he -- no Zoro -- made. Luffy whines at him again and Sanji lets out an over dramatic sigh, walking past Luffy and tapping the bottom of his freshly filled cigarette case. It was about time he found a new hiding place, and the store room sounded like the perfect place. It's the one place he know Zoro wouldn't go, especially not now.

"Sanji!" Nami says sternly and she steps into the doorway, blocking Sanji's only exit. She wasn't about to let him go without an explanation. The damage repairs were going to come out of _her_ money, afterall. "Tell us what happened!"

"Nothing, Nami-swan." Sanji's tone towards her isn't nearly as excited as it usual is. He can't seem to excite himself enough to bring that random pep back. "We just had a little disagreement. Nothing out of the ordinary..." Actually, he sounded a little depressed more than anything, and this makes Nami begin to worry. She reaches out to touch him, but he flinches and moves away, his hair draping over both of his eyes as he hurriedly walks towards the sanctuary of the store room.

"You're lying," Nami whispers after him, but he didn't hear it because by the time she said it, he was gone. Luffy carries himself out of the kitchen and stands next to Nami.

"Don't worry," He smiles. "I'll fix whatever's wrong!" His optimism never failed to make her smile.

---

Zoro sits in the darkness of the night on the head of Merry, the only light provided for him from the moon and the lights left on in the cabins and kitchen. With his knees drawn to his chest, he stares out into the water. He hardly registers the throbbing pain in his chest and head from his connection with Sanji's foot and any object in his way as he was knocked over. He didn't notice it over that new pain that squeezes and aches in his chest. He feels so out of character, just staring into the ocean, deep in thought, in the middle of the night. Tonight is just one of those nights that he can't help himself.

What baffled him the most was this new pain. He's never felt anything like it before. And when it came to women, and a few men, he took what he wanted when he wanted it. But this time was different. When Sanji rejected him, he couldn't do a thing about it. He felt trapped. Trapped under Sanji's gaze. Trapped by the sharp, hurtful words. Trapped by the rejection. Just for that moment he felt like he was completely at the cook's mercy, and he despises that feeling more than anything else.

Zoro clenches a fist around his leg, squeezing gently as he grinds his teeth together. And, all of a sudden, he felt like crying. _How pitiful,_ he thinks to himself. _I've fallen as far as to feel this awful over that shithead kuso-cook. Fuck._ He bites his lip again, digging his teeth into the freshly formed scabs. He heard someone approaching him, but whoever it was decided it best to wait until morning to do or say anything to Zoro, and the foot-steps faded. But morning wasn't too far off, for Zoro's eyes settled on the sunrise in the distance.

_"I guess we're all in for a late breakfast..."_

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**Ending Notes: **_Welp, that's it. I know. It's not as long as teh first two, but it's a bridge and helps tie things up a little more. I'm trying to figure out how to work out the next chapter and then finally wrap it up. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, ne? :3_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes**: _This chapter was SO much easier to write than the last one XD I'm not sure. Nothing too exciting going on here .. Just another tension builder to torment you all with XD Either way, enjoy 3_

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Sanji couldn't tell if the sun was up, whether breakfast should have been served yet or not, or if the moon was still residing in the sky. He has himself locked in the store room with the door locked so that there was no way for anyone to get in or out. _If anyone needs to use the bathroom, they can piss over the edge into the ocean_, Sanji figured. The last thing he wanted to do was be bothered by anyone. His head was a pit of stressful thoughts. Why couldn't Zoro have picked a fight with him like usual? Why couldn't he walk over and punch him, threaten him and make up some wild, unbelievable excuse in a desperate attempt to cover up the day's previous kiss? And how could he even assume that Sanji felt the same way? Why else would the cook mercilessly pick on and beat on the swordsman on an almost daily basis? They always fought. Isn't that a sign of dislike, not love? Nothing seems to make sense anymore.

With a deep breath of his cigarette, he closes his eyes and leans back against some sacks of potatoes that he made a point to pick up while they were in Jaya a good while back. They weren't exactly comfortable, but they were definitely better than the barrels of rum and ale that were stored on the other side of the room next to the hatch to the women's quarters stairs. He could hear everyone upstairs moving around and chatting. Surely last night's events hadn't just blown over. _I'm sure they're trying to fix the benches_, Sanji thought as he released the breath full of cigarette smoke he was unconsciously holding in. And, sure enough, the sound of hammer striking wood and nails could be heard from upstairs.

"I wonder where that shit-swordsman went off to," Sanji mumbles aloud to himself. Even after all of the hard work he did to get Zoro out of his face physically, he still couldn't escape him mentally. He haunted the love-cook's every thought. Sanji finishes off the cigarette he's smoking and immediately pulls out another one, putting it to his lips and lighting it. He was hoping to drown out the other man in smoke, which wasn't working to well as of yet.

And then, the locked doorknob started to jiggle. "SaaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaanjiiiiiiiii!" Luffy whines from outside the door. "I'm huuuuuUUUUUuuuungrrrrrrreeeheeeeee!" He taps lightly on the door. "When are you going to come out and feeeeheeeed ussssss?" His whining was beginning to get on Sanji's nerves and he murmurs, putting his cigarette out on the wall.

"Right now, Luffy." Sanji says and gets up, stuffing his pack of death sticks back into his pocket and opening the door. He was greeted by the over excited Luffy, his face ridden with joy thanks to the knowledge that food is on the way. And he stalks Sanji the entire way to the kitchen and tries to get in too. But Sanji closes the door on Luffy before he gets the chance to enter. The cook knew well that if he didn't lock Luffy out, he'd steal all the ingredients and eat them before they could be added to the mix of food.

Today's breakfast special: pancakes.

As he cracks eggs into a bowl to be mixed, Sanji looks out of the window. He hadn't see Zoro at all since he came back from the storage room and he is beginning to wonder where he was. Probably just moping, upset because Sanji really handed it to him last night. But whatever. Sanji tries to shrug it off and goes to adding milk to the mix before stirring it into a creamy, whipped batter. After that he proceeds to pour some batter onto a few sections of the skillet, creating liquid pancake shapes that had the promising smell of completed pancakes around them.

"Yo, Sanji," Usopp says. Sanji jumps, startled by the sudden voice. How had Usopp gotten in? Sanji locked the door to keep Luffy out. He looks over his shoulder to see Usopp sitting next to, and repairing, one of the benches. He'd gotten so into his cooking and own thoughts that he didn't notice Usopp sitting there working. "Exactly what happened last night?"

"Oh god, not this again," Sanji mumbles quietly to himself, just quiet enough so that Usopp can't hear him. Then he clears his throat and speaks up. "Just a little disagreement. Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah right," Usopp replies, driving another nail into the wood to get the third leg on the bench. As much as Sanji wanted to snap back with some sort of witty remark to get the last work in, he bit his tongue and shut up, flipping over the pancakes in the skillet with much skill.

Yeah right was right. But Sanji wasn't about to admit that to anyone. No one needed to know what happened between them, no matter how small of a matter is truly was. No one needed to know how Zoro really felt. Things were hard enough as they were at the moment without the entire crew knowing, and the fear that Nami knew, thanks to her little speech last night, was more than enough to put the cook on edge.

"There," Usopp states as he stands up. "Done!" He wipes away imaginary sweat from his forehead and puts the hammer between his sash and hip, patting the fabric over it gently. "Now don't you and Zoro go breaking it again! It'll only last until we can get a new one at whatever port we dock at next, alright?"

"Hn," is Sanji's only response to that as he puts the cooked pancakes on a plate next to the stove, adding new batter to the skillet and starting all over again.

"Good," Usopp nods to himself twice before heading to the door. He unlocks it and leaves, forgetting to close it. Luffy sees this as a golden opportunity and fires his rubbery arms into the room. He grabs whatever he can find first, the kitchen sink, and hauls himself in there, barreling over anything in his way, including Sanji. They both land in a small heap under the sink against the cabinets. Luffy begins laughing victoriously, now trying to get to the small stack of finished pancakes, but Sanji was beginning to lose him temper and he grabs his captain by the cuff of his shirt.

"You're not allowed in here until the food is done, Luffy!" He stands up and drags Luffy out of the kitchen. "You'll eat everything and not leave anything for anyone else!"

"But Saaaaanjiiiii!" Luffy starts whining again. "I'm hungry _now_!"

"I don't care," Sanji scolds as he throws Luffy on his butt outside the galley and closes the door. Another attempt to swipe food, failed.

Sanji dusts his hands off on his dress pants and removes his dress coat, the atmosphere in the kitchen getting a little hot from the heat of the stove, and tosses it over the newly fixed bench. He rolls up his sleeves and goes back to work and, in no time, breakfast is ready and the plate stacked high with pancakes sits in the middle of the table with syrup, butter, plates, forks and knives decorating the table around it. He opens the door and opens his mouth to call everyone for breakfast, but he never gets the chance. Luffy, once again, comes crashing into him and takes him out. They both tumble across the floor and make it half way to the table.

"FOOD!" Luffy yells and springs up, diving onto a chair and loading his plate up without a moment to lose. Sanji groans and sits up, the palm of his hand pressed against his forehead and left eye under his hair. He gets back up, curses at Luffy, and calls everyone else in for breakfast before lounging around at the counter to watch everyone eat. But something seemed so out of place, and he couldn't figure out what. Nami and Robin are sitting next to each other like usual, chatting over their food. Usopp is making bizarre and random faces at Chopper and playing with his food, trying to get the little reindeer to laugh. Chopper is imitating everything Usopp does and stuffing pancake in his mouth every once in a while. Luffy was eating everything in sight, and choking on a pancake every now and again. And then there was an empty seat next to Luffy.

"Zoro that shit-head," Sanji growls, continuing to watch the morning time social hour. He decides it's best if he eats after everyone else leaves. He doesn't have much of an appetite right now anyway thanks to the absent man.

"I'm telling you, Chopper!" Usopp's voice chimes in as Sanji comes out of his mind and back into the real world. "The shark had to have been fifty, no SEVENTY meters long! It was huge! And each row of teeth sharper than that last!"

"WOAH!" Chopper's eyes light up with admiration and interest as he listens to Usopp's story. "Are you serious! That's HUGE!"  
"Yeah it was!" Usopp beams proudly. "And I had to wrestle it!"

"WOAH!" Chopper gasps and drops his fork, jaw dropping at that.

"No joke!" The sharpshooter brags. "You see, the shark had eaten Merry and everyone on it before we met up with you and Robin! And, of course, the Great Captain Usopp had to step in and save the day!"  
"WOW!" Chopper's eyes are still sparkling. He can't even think about food anymore, buying every word in the story that Usopp was making up. It seems that the little reindeer will believe anything that the sharpshooter says.

"Woah!" Luffy chimes in. "When did this happen!"

"You were asleep, Luffy!" Usopp continues. "Everyone was asleep! This happened in the dead of night right after we entered The Grand Line!" He grins broadly as Luffy buys into the story as well. Things are going well for him for first thing in the morning.

"It's a rather nice day out today, isn't it?" Robin interrupts. Even though greatly amused, she figured it was time to end the story. "The sun's out just right and it's so warm. Such a nice day for..." she pauses and smiles at Luffy. "Swimming."

"YOSH!" Luffy says around a mouth full of the last of his food as he jumps up. "Swimming!" This seems to excite him a lot and Robin knew that this would keep him, Usopp and Chopper occupied for a good while.

"Don't forget your inner-tube and water-wings, Luffy." Nami added blatantly. "We don't need you drowning. Same goes for you, Chopper."

"We won't!" Both the doctor and captain say at the same time as they rush out of the kitchen, followed by Usopp.

Sanji sighs in relief. The commotion inside of the lounge room is finally over and the woman are just finishing up eating. He smiles sweetly at them. "Would either of you ladies like a cup of coffee?"

"No thanks," Nami says, standing up and leaving for the door. "Thank you for breakfast."

"You're so welcome, Nami-swan!"Sanji says, a little more welcome to the compliment and her voice this time. "And you, Robin-chwan?"

"Yes, Cook-san." She says, smiling up at him and opening the book she brought with her. She glues her eyes on the pages and reads as Sanji prepares and serves her her coffee. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," He says with a smile and gathers the dishes that everyone left over. He sets all of the dirty ones down in the sink full of soap-water and starts cleaning. Without Zoro around to help him dry and put the dishes away, it takes much longer to get the chore of cleaning up done. Once again, Zoro invades his mind. How does this keep happening?

He stares into the sink of dishes, scrubbing and cleaning, his face twisted with much displeasure and tension.

"Everything okay, Cook-san?" Robin says. She always seems to pick up on these things.

"Yeah," He says quietly. "Every thing's fine.

"Your eyes say otherwise," She adds.

"It's alright, Robin." He says. "Nothing that I can't handle. Just a little thought ridden. You know what it's like."

"Hmm," is all she says in response and she goes back to sipping her coffee as he proceeds to clean the dirty dishes. The room is silent for a good five or ten minutes before Robin speaks again. "Do you know where Swordsman-san has been? It seems that he's skipped breakfast."

"I," Sanji says uneasily, "haven't seem him since last night." The cook pauses and thinks for a moment before adding, "He's probably off sleeping somewhere."

"I see," the archaeologist adds before finishing up her coffee and setting the cup down on the table. "Thank you for the coffee." She grabs her book. "And the nice little chat." And with that, she leaves the room to, most likely, go lounge around on the deck.

_Nice little chat? _Sanji ponders. _It was hardly a chat._ He sighs and scrubs down the last plate, drying it and putting it away. Outside he can hear the splashes and laughter of his nakama in the water around Merry. Inside his head, he can only think of that kiss and confession.

---

**Ending Notes: **_Now that wasn't so painful to read, was it? . I hope not XD Chapter 5, soon to come 3 3 Thank you for reading:3_


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: **_Okay, Vampy! I toldja I'd get chapter 5 up sometimes today Another tension builder Oi, this is getting boring XD But never fear! The climax is on the way! I just gotta figure out how to introduce what I want to into the story This might take a while. Sorry this is taking so long ;P Enjoy, everyone!_

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The next few days, Zoro had been quite scarce around Sanji, as well as the rest of his nakama. He made his visits brief and to the point. He mostly only showed up when it was time to eat and only spoke when he had to. He even started switching chores with the other crew members to avoid Sanji, which was beginning to grow very tiresome. He spends most of his time in the storage room, hiding behind the barrels of ale next to the rack of wine and indulging in the fuzzy feeling that the drinks provide as he steals away at each bottle one by one. He greatly enjoys the momentary escape from reality and the increasing drunken feeling he gets with each swallowed drop. The booze never makes him forget, but it sure as hell helps him distract himself. But never makes him forget. That aching, pulsing, tightening feeling in his chest loosens as he gets more drunk, but it never goes away. The slightest thought of the cook brings back the feeling full force as something in his stomach flips and butterflies dance around his chest in a flurry, as if they are all trying to escape.

Zoro also has seemed to lose consciousness to everything outside of the storage room. He doesn't notice Nami's boot heels clicking against the wood of the room above him. He doesn't hear Chopper's crazed laughter and Usopp's constant boasting due to another lie he makes up. He can't even hear Luffy as he begs Sanji for food and nonchalantly gets thrown out of the kitchen. Everything is nothing more than a big blur in his muddled brain. Not a single thought could be registered or organized, or even pushed to the back of his mind; Zoro just let himself get _that _drunk.

His stomach growls at him. He had skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning and lunch this afternoon, almost an entire twenty-four hours without eating. He peers around the side of the barrels that he's hiding behind at the wine rack a few feet away and then to the door as his stomach growls again. He really needs to eat something and eventually the alcohol would start the plague him. Drinking on an empty stomach never was nor will it ever be a healthy thing to do.

Zoro crawls out from the sanctuary of his hiding place and staggers to his feet, being a lot more shaky on his feet than he remembers. He makes his way towards the door and leaves, walking towards the kitchen. Halfway up the stairs, his almost empty bottle of ale drops from his hand and falls down the stairs, rolling on the floor at the bottom and stopping at Luffy's sandaled feet. Luffy doesn't say anything, but only watches as Zoro's muscular form vanishes into the kitchen before bending over to pick up the bottle.

Walking passed the stove, passed the table and completely ignoring the love-cook's presence, Zoro makes his way to the refrigerator. "I wonder if there are any leftovers," he mumbles to himself as he opens the door and sticks his head in, looking around for something, anything, to eat and help silence the protests in his belly. He spots a plate of left over meat and vegetables that is set off to the side and reaches in for it, but he's forced to draw his limbs out rather quickly and abruptly when the door slams closed.

"Oi, kuso-marimo," Sanji growls as he looms over Zoro's hunched over and drunken form. "Exactly what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm getting food, asshole," Zoro responds and tries to open the fridge again, determined to get something into his outraged stomach. He grabs Sanji's ankle and pulls it off of the door. "Now move, shitty-cook."

"It's not my fault you decided to not eat anything the past day, shit-bushido," he growls as he firmly plants his foot back on the door. "You're going to wait until dinner like everyone else."

"Well," Zoro growls. "Unlike everyone else, I'm hungry now. And I'm getting food..._now_." He pushes Sanji's foot away and opens the fridge door yet again, only to have it closed on him...again. "Do you _want_ to fight with me today? Because I'm warning you, I'm in one hell of a mood."

"Then you oughta learn to eat when everyone else does," Sanji growls, closing the fridge door once more to let Zoro know that he's not joking around.

"And you oughta learn to quit when you're ahead," Zoro growls in a very dark voice, standing up and reeling his fist back. He lets it fly forward and strikes Sanji in his left cheek, forcing him to stumble backwards, but not enough to knock him off of his feet. He lets a string of curses fall from his parted lips as he catches his balance and lurches forward, kicking out one of his feet and just missing Zoro's side. He twists and lands on his offending foot, bringing up the other one in another attempt to hit him. This time he was successful and catches him in his ribs with the toe of his shoe. Zoro gasps in sharply, having not expected being hit like that, and is knocked over. Being this drunk is dulling his senses and making him sluggish. It has gotten incredibly hard to fight with the cook.

"Shit," Zoro spits as he rolls onto his feet and into a crouch, hugging his side painfully and watching Sanji's moves. Sanji had settled into a comfortable fighting stance, glaring dangerously at the swordsman.

"Had enough already, shit-swordsman?" he taunted, tapping the heel of his shoe on the wooden floor before him.

"Can it, cook," Zoro says as he stands up clumsily. He's too drunk to fight and he knows it. "Why can't you just let me get some food?"

"You'll just have to wait until dinner like everyone else," Sanji repeats himself for what he feels is the one-hundredth time. "It will be done in about an hour. You can handle the wait." He says and he turns around back to his stove, wiping away from of the blood from his bleeding lip.

"Whatever," Zoro snaps, having to get the last word in as he leaves, slamming the door irritably behind him. He marches down the stairs and hiccups, wondering where his dropped bottle had gotten off to. He looks around and, without being able to find it, shrugs it off and heads back to the safe haven of his corner in the storage room. If he felt safe anywhere on Merry at the moment, it was behind the barrels.

---

An hour has passed and Sanji calls everyone in to dinner. They show up in their usual order: Luffy, then Robin and Nami, then Ussop and Chopper. But, once again, there is no sign of Zoro anywhere. After all of the trouble he had caused, cutting the inside of Sanji's cheek and leaving a bruise on his face, he hadn't showed up after all. Sanji fumes at he pushes the food on his plate around.

"Has anyone seen Zoro?" Chopper mused, much worry sticking to his voice. "He's skipped four meals in a row so far, including this one." The little doctor pushes his plate away for the moment, setting his hooves down on the table has if he was going to thoughtfully lace invisible fingers together.

"I saw him earlier," Luffy says around a mouthful of food, a lot more clearly than he usually does.

"Oh?" Nami asks. She doesn't seem to have a lot to say on the matter.

"Yeah, he was heading towards the kitchen," Luffy reflects, stuffing another piece of meat into his mouth. "Ee droppet a bott'e ov booze while goin' up da staarz."

"Swallow before you speak, Luffy." Nami says, going back to her food.

"Booze?" Choppers asks. "It's not healthy to drink on an empty stomach." He gives Sanji a worried glance. Luffy had said that Zoro was heading to the kitchen, so he had to have some sort of contact with Sanji. But Sanji chooses to ignore the look and poke at his food more. He doesn't want any part of the conversation.

Robin picks up on Sanji's ignorance towards everyone tonight and gives him her trademark smile, saying, "Do you know where bushido-san is tonight, cook-san?"

"He's probably off sleeping somewhere," Sanji says, wanting to say something worse, but not in the presence of his precious women.

"But you've had to have seen him, Sanji," Chopper cuts in, whining a little. The little reindeer always seems to wear his heart on his sleeve and doesn't put forth any effort to try and not sound upset by the matter.

"Yeah, I did," Sanji replies. "He said he'd be back for dinner, but I guess that was a lie." He takes a fork full of the vegetables he made for dinner and shoves it into his mouth to avoid needing to say anything else.

"I'm worried about Zoro," Chopper whimpers. Robin sprouts one of her arms out from the bench on either side of Chopper and tickles him playfully.

"Don't worry, doctor-san," she says in her normally sweet voice. "He can take care of himself. He'll be alright."

Chopper giggles at the tickling and manages to squeeze out an "okay" before Robin stops and dinner resumes.

---

**Ending Notes: **_There, that wasn't so bad, now was it? it was, wasn't it? . Oh well XD I hope you enjoyed, chapter 6 is soon to come 3_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **_Alright! This is the final chapter! I thought I'd be able to make it to chapter 7, but I lied to myself. XD Chapter 6 IS the last chapter. And, just to let you all know now: I'm not making a squeal. That would be s.t.u.p.i.d. XD_

_Alright, now to fufill a request: DraakanGaurd, I'm flattered that you like my work so much, but your review comment was over the top and uncalled for. Shorten it up, make it to the point. Review comments aren't for idle chat and to see how much you can type without stopping. It's for critique and compliments. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this. Keep that in mind. (One more thing: I'm not going to chapter 100, love XD)_

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Once again, everyone flaked on Sanji and forsook kitchen duty, leaving the cook to clean up everyone's mess by himself. This has to have been the fourth night in a row Sanji was left alone to clean, and tonight the crew left a big mess behind. So Sanji spends almost an hour and a half cleaning dishes, scrubbing down the counters and stoves and wiping off the table and floor. Half-way through wiping down the table, he sits down on the bench and leans his face against the woodwork, falling asleep almost immediately. Sleepless nights and hard days do these things to a person. He snores lightly and rotates through restless dreams, all about Zoro and what has been happening between the two of them the past few days.

As he snores lightly and uncomfortably shifts his position on the table, the kitchen door slowly creaks open. A slightly sobered Zoro walks in and looks around. Spotting the love-cook asleep on the table, he enters and closes the door quietly, trying not to disturb his sleeping nakama. His stomach growls once at him and Zoro looks around. Sitting on the counter next to the stove is a plate full of food. It is made up of a little bit of everything from tonight's dinner with cling wrap wrapped over it to keep the heat and moisture in. _He made a plate of food up for me?_ Zoro ponders as he walks over and observes the dinner, wondering how he saved it from Luffy and his bottomless pit of a stomach. His stomach growls again. He doesn't wait another moment or needs to be reminded twice, and he unwraps the meal, taking a fork out of the drawer and eating it as quietly and quickly as he can. Once he's done, he washes the plate and silverware he had used and puts everything away, making a little less work for Sanji in doing so whenever he wakes up.

"Oh Sanji," Zoro says as he sighs, glancing over at his sleeping form. How he wishes that Sanji would just return his affection. The rejection, the heartbreak that the cook had put him through was too much to bear, but not enough to kill him. He continues to stand at the counter on the other side of the room as Sanji, just watching him for a moment. A moment turned into minutes as he sits there and thinks, trying to sort through all of his thoughts now that he is beginning to sober up and can think again. Before he knows it, the clock jumps an entire hour and the kitchen has gone completely undisturbed.

He looks around cautiously, even though he knew there was no point. Sanji knew his secret and rejected him. So what is the rest of the crew found out? He walks over to Sanji and sits beside him on the bench, yawning wide. He drapes an arm over the cook's skinny shoulders and leans down. _What could it hurt?_ He thinks and leans in, pressing his lips to Sanji's softly. He only remains like that for a moment before pulling away and resting his head on the table, in fear of the cook waking up and catching him. He closes his eyes and sighs, slowly beginning to fall asleep himself.

Soon both the cook and the swordsman lay together at the table, Zoro snuggled up against the unsuspecting Sanji. Both breathe lightly, the only movement in the room being the rise and fall of their chests and shifting bodies every once in a while. Sanji's light snoring is the only sound the can be heard. And the slumbering of the two men continued through the night.

---

Dawn comes too soon the next morning, the sun rising over the horizon painting the skies red and orange. Seagulls sore over the Going Merry, signifying that land is, indeed, nearby. Usopp was the last on watch duty and the sharpshooter had fallen asleep on duty. He snores loudly from his perch in the crow's nest, snuggled tightly under the blanket he had brought with him. He stirs slightly, rolling over and curling into a ball. It's cold up in the crow's nest at night and obviously Usopp wasn't warm enough. He opens one eye, the rising sunlight beginning to bother him, and covers his head with the blanket. The only thing left visible is his nose.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot goes off and Robin's scream resounds in the still morning air. Usopp jumps to wakefulness and looks over the side of the crow's nest. "Shit!" While Usopp was sound asleep, the marines had secretively boarded the Going Merry. The sharpshooter assumes that Robin had woken up early to read or enjoy the morning's glory, but there wasn't much enjoyment for her now. Now she lays on the deck floor wounded somewhere on her upper torso with a puddle of blood forming underneath her still body.

"ROBIN!" Usopp cries out as he leans over the side of the crow's nest to see what's going on below him. This alerts one of the marines who aim a gun up and fire, just missing his face. Usopp yelps and draws back into the safety of his perch high up. "Shit shit shit," he mumbles, looking around. "This wouldn't be happening if I hadn't fallen asleep!" He spots his bag and pulls out his sling shot and some ammo. He loads it into the slingshot and leans over the side of the crow's nest, taking careful aim again. "Sure-kill lead star!" He lets his lead ball go and it fires down into the invasion of marines. "Bulls-eye!" He yells victoriously, watching a marine go down, clutching his eye.

"He's armed, men!" An officer yells. "Bring him down at all costs!" Usopp watches at the marines set themselves up, a small sniper team aiming their guns up at him and readying to fire. He digs through his bag again and grabs another pellet. He loads it into his sling shot and leans over the side again, taking careful aim once more. "Smoke star!" He lets go again and watches as his miniature smoke bomb explodes on the deck, leaving the marines in mass confusion. "Now's my chance!" He jumps over the side, climbing down to the deck and frantically looking for Robin. He spots her and grabs her, throwing her over his shoulder as gently as he can and running to seek refuge in the kitchen.

The sharpshooter kicks open the door and barges in, sending both Zoro and Sanji into a very frenzied awakening. Zoro moves away from Sanji as quickly as he can, jumping to his feet and looking at Robin, then to Usopp.

"What happened!" Zoro asks, trying to piece everything together as Sanji gets up and runs over to Usopp, taking Robin from him and bringing her over to lay down on the table.

"Ambush!" Usopp squeaks out. "A small army of marines has invaded Merry!"

"What!" Sanji yells. "You were supposed to be on watch!"

"I fell asleep!" Usopp whimpers, tugging at his hair frantically.

"Go wake up Luffy and the others," Zoro demands. "I'll cover you."

"Are you insane!" Usopp argues. "There are too many of them out there!"

"He won't have to do it alone," Sanji interrupts. "I'll help him." Zoro looks over at Sanji, his heart beginning to ache again.

"I don't need your help," says the swordsman very bitterly. He nonchalantly adds an "asshole" after his sentence and wraps his bandanna around his head.

"Don't act so righteous," Sanji scoffs, thrusting his hands into his pockets and tapping the toe of his shoe on the ground behind him and glances over his shoulder sorrowfully at Robin.

"Pfft," is all Zoro says before drawing his swords. "Right after we go out, you leave for Luffy's room, alright Usopp?"

"Got it," Usopp says.

"She's still alive," Sanji says quietly. "Get Chopper to help her. Please, Usopp." He doesn't have to look at Usopp to know that he's nodding in understanding and he walks over to the door, grabbing the doorknob. "Ready?" He twists the doorknob and jerks the door open, running out of the room as fast as he can, followed by three-blades and then the sharpshooter.

Sanji starts off on his hands right away, doing a front flip and thrusting the ball of his heel into the nearest enemy's face, shoving the cartilage and bone upwards and into his brain, killing him almost instantly. He lands in a squat and kicks out behind him, striking someone in his knee and feeling the crack of breaking bones.

Zoro runs out into the middle of a small crowd and lashes his swords out at his enemies skillfully at the opponents before him, wiping out as many of them as he can with one swing. Using a variety of attacks, he manages to take down one marine after another, leaving blood pools all over the deck and blood splatters all over himself. His eyes glaze over with the lust for battle, for more blood. Soon the main deck is littered with dead, dying and crippled bodies, but that's no where near the end of the marine onslaught.

Ships from in the distance are firing cannonballs at Merry, striking her sides with devastating blows. The ship shakes hard, forcing Sanji to stumble and drop to one knee. He's caught off guard by a kick from one of the marines, the knee of the other man striking in hard in his jaw. He grunts and falls over, just barely managing to catch himself with his hand and pushes himself back onto proper balance, allowing him to deal a fatal blow to his opponent's head. He stands up, the toll of battle beginning to tax his body. Waking up to immediately enter a fight was never a good idea, no matter how good of endurance one has.

"How you doing, Zoro?" Sanji questions, ducking a swipe from a sailor's sword and kneeing him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him onto the ground at his feet. He listens, but gets no answer from Zoro. He looks around. It seems that, seeing as Zoro has such a high bounty, that everyone wants a piece of him, keeping him very occupied. But the simple occupation was beginning to grow threatening as the numbers slowly begin to overwhelm the single swordsman. Sanji notices this and curses under his breath, taking out another marine and fighting his way to his friend. "Zoro! Get out of there!" One again, his words don't reach the bushido and he curses.

Sanji continues fighting his way to get to Zoro. But every time he makes a little bit of progression, more marines get in his way. There are just too many for one man to take down. "Where the fuck is Luffy?" The sound of the battle grows louder around him, everything getting more intense by the minute. He hears a gunshot and a loud grunt. And then everything falls silent as he watches Zoro weakly and clumsily swing his swords. "ZORO!" Zoro looks over his shoulder at Sanji and one of his eyes close in pain. Sanji hears another gun shot and opens his mouth to yell, but nothing comes out. He watches as Zoro drops to his knees, vanishing behind the crowd of marines.

Sanji fights his way through the crowd with even more ferocity than he had before. He kicks, cracking open skulls, breaking limbs, and taking life without any care to who is in his way. He finally reaches Zoro, after what seems to be an eternity, and drops down next to Zoro. So many things go through his head as he gazes upon the still, silent and bleeding bushido. He reaches down and lifts Zoro's head up with one hand, tapping his cheek with the free one.

"Come on, kuso-marimo," Sanji whines. "Get up." He gets no response. "Oi! Shit-head! You're tougher than this!" He still gets no response. His eyes water and he inhales deeply, forgetting about everything around him. "Zoro! Open your eyes!" Sanji shakes him gently, tears spilling over his eyes. He starts whispering, leaning hunched over the swordsman lifeless body. "Don't die on me, Zoro. Please, don't die. Don't leave me alone. Zoro." He presses his face into the crook over Zoro's neck, absorbing what warmth is left and inhaling the scent of musk and blood. "I lied to you, I'm sorry." He lifts his head up a little just so he can see Zoro's face and he speaks to him in an almost inaudible voice. "I love you too."

He gasps in sharply as something pierces through his chest. He gasps in sharply and it seems as if he's staring through Zoro, through the wooden deck under him, through the hull of the ship, passed the bottom of the ocean and into the core of the earth. He shifts his distant eyes to the blade that sticks out of the center of his chest, staring at it, shaking. But he refuses to let go of Zoro. The sword pulls out of him and he shudders, coughing and hacking up blood. He whispers inaudibly again, having a conversation with himself so quiet that no one else can understand.

"Arrest him!" An officer commands, standing over both men. Four hands grab Sanji's shoulders, two on either side of his head, and pull him back. He resists, wrenching forward and stroking one of the swordsman's cheeks as it grows cold, plain out refusing to leave his side. Both marines tug roughly at him, hauling him to his feet and dragging him away from the bountied criminal.

"NO!" Sanji yells. "ZORO!" He thrashes in the grasp of the other men. He doesn't notice anything else around he. He never notices that Usopp had been captured before ever making it to the men's cabin room. He never notices that the marines broke into the kitchen and murdered Robin. He never notices the Nami had gone down fighting after the marines violated the privacy of her room. Or that they ambushed the men's quarters and captured both his captain and his doctor by using heave dosages of tranquilizer. All he knows is that he's being taken away from Zoro. Tears shamelessly spill over his eyes. Tears of pain, tears of guilt. Sanji wishes that he could turn back time. There's so much that he would undo, so much he would change. You never know what you have until it's gone...

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**Ending Notes: **_Aww! Doesn't it just BREAK your heart! runs away and hides don't kill me please I love you all spare me! XD I LIKE DRAMA AND ANGST! Leave me alone . _

_Well, I hope you all enjoyed this fic. I know I loved writing it. (you shoulda seen how worked up I got while writing this last chapter XD I spazzumed!). I have a new fic in the works. A comedy, a spoof...and full of OP smut .. oh boy._


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